1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to electro-optical devices and electronic apparatuses including the electro-optical devices.
2. Related Art
In general, liquid crystal devices used as optical modulators mounted on such apparatuses as liquid crystal projectors, or used as direct-view display devices mounted on such apparatuses as mobile phones are basically composed of a pair of substrates having electrodes. Conductive films (such as pixel electrodes and counter electrodes) and, in the case of liquid crystal devices, alignment layers for controlling the initial alignment of liquid crystal molecules are formed on the respective inner sides of the pair of substrates. The pair of these substrates are coupled together through, for example, a sealing material, and thereby the substrates are bonded to each other. To constitute a liquid crystal device, a liquid crystal is sealed in the region enclosed by the sealing material.
As devices such as liquid crystal devices are enhanced to display images with higher definition or are reduced in size, studies have been carried out to reduce the distance (the seal thickness) of the sealing material from the inside to the outside with respect to the liquid crystal. However, reducing this distance results in a problem that the moisture proofness of the seal is deteriorated. In detail, when such liquid crystal devices are used in hot and humid environments, water in the air may penetrate the liquid crystal through the sealing material and may adversely affect the alignment of the liquid crystal. Any changes in the alignment of liquid crystal cause display defects such as uneven brightness.
Techniques for solving such problems are disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2009-163082, which proposes a liquid crystal device that realizes high gas barrier properties by having a gas barrier member disposed to cover the exterior side of a sealing material as well as the lateral side of a substrate and further by covering the outer surface of the gas barrier member with an inorganic gas barrier layer.
Although the liquid crystal device disclosed in JP-A-2009-163082 achieves improved moisture proofness by the configuration in which the inorganic gas barrier layer is disposed on the outer surface of the gas barrier member formed of a moistureproof resin, the application of heat to the liquid crystal device during the formation of the inorganic gas barrier layer causes the occurrence of outgassing or the elution of impurities from the resinous sealing material and gas barrier member. The elution of impurities or the outgassing from resin components of sealing materials causes the liquid crystal to be out of alignment at the boundary between the liquid crystal and the seal, thus possibly resulting in display defects such as uneven brightness.